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Luzerne County man killed in alleged road-rage incident

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Andrew Krech/Staff Photographer
Lorenzo Burgos of Plymouth faces homicide by motor vehicle and other charges after he allegedly hit and killed Fred John Kleman Jr. of Plymouth on Wednesday.

One of the last things Fred John Kleman Jr. ever did was tell a speeding driver to slow down.

Minutes later, he was dead in what witnesses characterized as an extreme case of road rage - the furious driver sped back to the scene and ran Kleman down, then tried to beat him with a metal bar, according to state police.

"He was saying to slow down because we were worried about how they race up the street," said Kleman's girlfriend, Cathy Huk, 54, who said she knew the Plymouth man for about 13 years. "He was just telling him to slow down and that guy wanted to kill him."

State police arrested Lorenzo Burgos, 21, of 469 Third St., Plymouth, on charges of homicide by motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of careless driving and reckless driving.

Those who knew Kleman questioned the charges of vehicular homicide and manslaughter, which carry significantly lighter sentences than a murder conviction. The most serious charge, vehicular homicide, carries a maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison.

"It wasn't manslaughter. That was premeditated murder," Huk said. "He said he was going to murder him, because after he hit him (with the car), he tried to hit him with a pipe. How can that be just manslaughter? It wasn't an accident that he was going over there. He was going after all of us."

Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said she could not comment specifically on how prosecutors decided on the charges, although she noted the charges could change.

"We charged based on the facts that were presented to us and the information we had," Salavantis said. "If that information changes while conducting the investigation, the charges can always be amended."

According to a state police affidavit, police were called to the scene to a report that a vehicle had hit a pedestrian and another vehicle and that the driver got out and ran toward Main Street.

Authorities at the scene found Kleman mortally wounded and two smashed vehicles. Kleman was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, where he was pronounced dead at 9:04 p.m.

Neighborhood resident Mike Olexy Jr. said he was talking with Ronald Faye Miller and Kleman about his Jeep when they saw Burgos' white Toyota Celica speeding up the hill.

Olexy told police a child was crossing the street farther up the hill, so Kleman stepped out into the road to get the car to slow down, according to the affidavit.

"Slow down, this isn't a racetrack," the affidavit quotes Kleman as saying.

Witnesses reported Kleman tapped the trunk of the car as it passed. The driver slowed down, flipped Kleman the middle finger and drove off, according to police.

But minutes later, the car came back down the hill, intentionally swerving toward the group, police said.

"He came down, swerved," Olexy said. "We were all talking. I was like, 'Ronnie, move!' We ran into the driveway and he hit Freddy."

Huk said she was also on the street when the car sped back down the hill but was able to get out of the way.

"He was heading for all four of us but he wanted Fred," Huk said. "I moved out of the way and the two other young men moved out of the way, and he got Fred right onto his windshield. By the time I turned around, I seen him already on the sidewalk."

The car hit a parked Hyundai Santa Fe and the driver got out saying, "Where's he at? I'm gonna kill him," the affidavit says. The driver ran around to the passenger side, and Olexy's uncle, Michael Merth, tried to detain him until police arrived, investigators said. The driver, however, broke free and ran off.

After fleeing the scene, Burgos ran first to a bar on Main Street where he tried to call police, the affidavit says. Unable to use the phone there, Burgos went to Convenient Mart on Main Street and called 911 to turn himself in, police said.

During questioning, Burgos admitted being the driver, saying he had been on his way home with two of his fiancee's children when the incident took place, the affidavit says. Burgos reported hearing a "boom" on his car as he passed Kleman and that in response he flipped him off, police said.

Burgos claimed Kleman then squatted in the road and began waving both middle fingers at him, motioning for him to come back, according to the affidavit.

The driver went home and left the car running while he dropped the children off and told his fiancee what happened, police said. He told his fiancee he was going back to fight the man who flipped him off, and she told him not to go, the affidavit says.

Burgos told police he grabbed two metal bars used for a jack and got back into his car, according to the affidavit.

The plan, Burgos told police, was to speed toward the man who flipped him off and "slam on the brakes" to stop just short of him, the affidavit says. But as he approached at about 30 to 40 mph, he told investigators he hit the accelerator instead of the brake, or possibly both, and was unable to stop because the tires were bad, according to police.

Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker arraigned Burgos on Thursday morning and ordered him jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility with bail set at $1 million.

A preliminary hearing was set for 1 p.m. Aug. 21.

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

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